Ireland will sign up shortly to some 90 per cent of the Schengen Agreement's provisions for closer EU-wide police and customs co-operation in monitoring cross-border movements and tackling serious crime.
This was confirmed yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, at a meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers.
The Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels was also presented yesterday with a report on organised crime by the European police agency, Europol, which is based in The Hague. The report claims there are 13 organised crime gangs in the Republic.
The move on the Schengen Agreement will require legislation in Ireland to allow for the immediate arrest of suspects indicated by the central database, the Schengen Information System, as being sought by police in any part of the Union. Following arrest normal extradition procedures will apply.
Mr O'Donoghue's declaration follows an agreement between Britain and Spain on procedures for handling border crossings at Gibraltar that allowed the British yesterday to accede to the bulk of Schengen.
But neither Britain nor the Republic will abolish border passport controls or implement "hot pursuit" or cross-border surveillance provisions.
The Schengen Treaty was conceived by five member-states in 1990 outside the EU framework as a means of eliminating their internal borders by agreeing rules for policing external borders and through close co-operation between the respective authorities in monitoring movements of people and goods.
It was incorporated into the Amsterdam Treaty in 1998, although with opt-outs for Britain, the Republic and Denmark. The Republic made clear at the time that its opt-out was a direct response to that of the British and the desire to preserve their common travel area.
Mr O'Donoghue also joined other ministers in signing a new convention on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
This provides for close police co-ordination and exchanges of information about serious offences, hearings by video conferencing, joint investigation teams for international inquiries and procedures for allowing the interception of phone calls in other member-states.
The interception of phone calls will be carried out by the police of the state where the interception takes place and only on the specific authorisation of its minister.
The Europol report on organised crime outlines its growth in the EU and particularly the establishment of substantial criminal organisations from eastern Europe, South America, west Africa and Asia Minor in western Europe.
The report, which was drawn up earlier this year, and reported on in The Irish Times earlier this month, has nation-by-nation reports on organised crime in the EU.
The short section on the Republic claims there are 13 organised-crime gangs here, nine of which have direct links to drugs suppliers in other EU countries.
Some 62 per cent of organised crime is centred on Dublin, 13 per cent in the Border area and the remainder mainly in Cork and Limerick.
It states: "Irish organised criminal groups can be divided into two general categories. The first category consists of approximately a dozen major groups that are well established, tightly structured, involved in drug trafficking, armed robbery and, to a lesser extent, the theft of computer components. These groups are mainly based in the Dublin area.
"The second category involves groups whose activities are less significant than those described above. They are characterised by less cohesive group structures and criminal activities that are often confined within Ireland. The somewhat fragmented and opportunistic element of organised crime in Ireland is an important characteristic of these groups."
The principal activities of the Irish gangs are drugs and cigarette-smuggling. The problem of organised crime in Ireland is tiny compared to other EU states but there has been an increase in the number of gang-related killings, particularly in Dublin. In the past two years there have been about 20 unsolved gang-related killings.
Within the EU drugs are the principal activity, followed by trafficking in human beings. Gangs from outside the EU are increasingly involved in trafficking women from poor countries into prostitution and smuggling migrants seeking work.
Money-laundering and cigarette-smuggling are also growth areas.
The level of organised crime in the EU is growing, and the Council of Ministers will consider co-ordinated legislative and law-enforcement measures to counteract the growth of the major gangs.